Benson Residents Get Guidance On Disasters

Residents of Benson got a chance to explore their options when it comes to how to take care of themselves in a disaster situation.

Disaster Day brought the community together with several emergency services agencies from Johnston County and the Town of Benson.

Attendees were given lessons on how to do something as simple as building an information packet about themselves that would be available to emergency personnel.

Visitors were also given several demonstrations as well. Demonstrations of using equipment such as fire extinguishers and what to do should an active shooter situation occur.

“Emergency management gave a seminar on what to do in case of a natural disaster and other agencies were involved as well,” said Benson Center for Aging Director Debra Cardone, who organized the event. “They gave them a list of items they should have on hand, what amount they should have.”

Other demonstrations included the use of portable defibrillators and how to do CPR.

“EMS came and they discussed CPR and AED (automatic external defibrillator),” Ms. Cardone said. “They did training on that so if you come upon someone, you have an idea of what to do to help.”

Perhaps one of the most relevant presentations in this day and age came from the Benson Police Department and Chief Kenneth Edwards.

“Benson PD came in an did an active shooter drill,” Ms. Cardone said. “We hate that we’re in the time when that is necessary, but it is. So they came and gave us a very good presentation on what to do in that situation. They taught what to do and what not to do.”

The Benson Fire Department’s presentation involved one of the most common household items when it comes to emergencies — the fire extinguisher.

While they are a routine part of most households today, sometimes use is a far less well-known skill.

“They came in and showed us how to use an extinguisher should it ever be needed,” Ms. Cardone said. “There’s a lot of people out there who have them, but do they know how to use them? Now they will.”

Ms. Cardone believes the event gave residents a chance to walk out with a lot more knowledge and information than what they had when they arrived.

She said an event like Disaster Day was truly a great way to learn and even reinforce knowledge and hopefully it will be something each person will continue to retain — and hopefully never have to use.

“Hopefully, a lot of people leave here with a lot more knowledge of what to do in the event that a disaster strikes,” she said. “But also they hopefully will never have to use those skills and will never need the services they learned about today.” Courtesy The Daily Record